An eye for an eye
by Kuroda Miharu
Summary: History repeats itself, but this time there is not such a happy ending. ShikamaruNeji and KakashiObito


Something that I wrote probably 3 or 4 years ago but never posted but with reading the latest chapter I felt I needed to re-work it and this is the result. Hope you enjoy

~KM

**An eye for an eye**

"Shika, please…" he mumbled his voice strained and barley above a whisper, "please take it."

"Neji I can't do that." Shikamaru replied tears falling down his face.

"Please I want you to have it Shika." The Hyuuga struggled to say, "you can't save me this time, I want to help you. Sakura please, do it." He never looked away from the doe-eyed man.

The pink haired kunoichi jumped at being addressed by the man, "Anything Neji." She whispered back tears threatening to fall as she looked towards the Nara who nodded his head in defeat.

Effortlessly she removed the Hyuuga's right eye from its socket and quickly placed it in Shikamaru's empty one.

The Hyuuga smiled lightly before his byakugan deactivated, "love you Shik…" he mumbled before his shallow breath gave way to nothing.

The young Nara growled tearing his eyes away from the mangled body but failing to remove the byakugan's gaze. "Sakura get him home."

"But Shikamaru we need"

"I need," he cut her off, "you get him home, I will be fine." With that he disappeared, his ANBU mask in place, he would finish this if it was the last thing he did.

-two weeks later-

"Kakashi-sempi."

"Yo."

The two lazy nin exchanged bored greetings while continueing their journey towards the Hokage tower.

"How did you do it?" Shikamaru asked breaking the silence after a moment, his visible brown eye focusing on the clouds above them.

"How did I do what?" The copy-nin asked his attention focused on the omnipresent orange book in hand.

"How did you let go? How did you adapt to it?" He asked not beating round the bush, they were genii after all.

"I never let go," the older man replied, "and you get used to it." He paused looking at the younger. "We may be similar Shikamaru-kun but what you are going through I can't explain or help you with. Mine may drain my chakara when used but I can hide it away; I don't live on chakara pills because I can see though things so I really can't answer for you."

He came to a stop on the path, the Nara still looking towards the clouds, "you have to figure this out as the genius you are."

Shikamaru sighed and turned his gaze to watch the silver haired nin continue to walk past him.

"You loved him didn't you but he never saw you like that." He said loud enough for the copy-nin to hear and falter in his step. "You thought love was an unnecessary emotion for shinobi to possess and let him fawn over your teammate." He continued, the elder now still again frozen to the spot. "His last gift made you feel loved and made you wonder if maybe, just maybe he felt something too."

"Nara-san, I will try to help you but that path is not to be ventured down, do you understand?" Kakashi bristled, a dark aura radiating from him as he turned towards the Nara, "we should always strive to understand our past but not live in it. We can't bring them back but they live on with us and they are always with us."

He looked over the boy before him, "Maybe it was love but I never understood love then and I still don't today." He admitted, "but I know that what you had was different from me. Shikamaru I am sorry but I don't think I am the one you need to talk to,"

With that he turned and walked into the tower leaving the young genius with his thoughts.

He looked in to the light lavender eyes that starred back into his own brown ones. The younger gently stroked the side of the others face, his finger tips brushing away some of the loose strands of hair.

The older arched to the touch and slipped his own hand behind the others head to bring him down into a searing kiss.

They enjoyed the moment before the younger pulled back to look into the eyes of his lover beneath him after tasting copper in his mouth.

The elders face scrunched in pain and with a piercing scream his vision vanished in one eye before the other vanished completely into the darkness.

As the rain poured he didn't flinch even as the drops fell heavier on his already chilled form. Like many days before and many to come he stood staring at the memorial stone but unlike other times today was for new names.

Today he had more to visit than last time. Young shinobi with so much talet who should still be living were no more than a memory.

Hatake Kakashi shook his head as he turned his back to the stone, fingers running over the scrolls in his shuriken pouch: notes for the Hokage, notes of a genius.

Maybe the young man had been changed and could see into the future with that eye or just he could imagine the events that would unfold and wrote out his advice.

Kakashi wore a sad smile under his mask, just like they wanted they were side by side forever.

KIA: Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru.


End file.
